Tag: entertainment

If any of the dear readers of the gringa are active on social media platforms, then you are familiar with term “top influencers”. But have you ever stopped to think about what this says about American society? Well, to see who is at the top of their game in the industries of entertainment, travel, gaming, fitness, beauty, and home life, just take a look at the data comprised by Forbes so far.

Other industries like fashion, comedy, parenting, food, sports, technology and business will be reported on in the fall. But for now, this is what social media reflects about American culture:

Entertainment: Canadian vlogger, Lilly Singh, commands a YouTube audience of 11 million, has conducted a 27-city worldwide tour and has a book on the New York Times bestseller list. What does she stand for? Although comedy is her main game, she also performs hip-hop, bhangra dance, does impressions and has done a bit of acting.

The top 10 influencers in social media entertainment collectively have:

– nearly 89 million Instagram followers,

– more than 33 million Twitter followers,

– nearly 50 million likes on Facebook.

Travel: Brian Kelly is earning millions annually. Along with his 20-person team, they help travelers game the system and take advantage of all those elusive points and perks for travel associated with credit cards. In a sense, he is as much an educator as he is a travel czar.

As a whole, the top 10 influencers for the travel industry in social media have:

– – nearly 11 million Instagram followers

– – 1.5 million Twitter followers

– – 2.5 million Facebook likes

– – 2.6 million YouTube subscribers

Gaming: Just about every American alive today can say that they have been a gamer at some point in their life. The gringa still games. My oldest son is quite impressed with my “bad-ass” high elf avatar on Skyrim. But I digress.

The top influencer for the gaming industry is not the gringa. That acclaim goes to Mark Fischback. His horror genre games have been viewed more than 7 billion times. If you’ve played a zombie game lately, stand and be counted.

Along with his other top 10 gaming influencers, here’s how many social media fanatics are influenced by the entertaining digital escapes they create:

– – 35 million Instagram followers

– – 28 million Twitter followers

– – 11 million Facebook likes

– – 152 million YouTube Subscriptions

Fitness: Lungers and Lycra lovers have all probably heard of Kayla Itsines who tops the list of social media fitness influencers. Last year her fitness app earned her a tidy $17 mill. She sells out stadiums when she tours and touts 6.6 million followers on Instagram (the gringa is clueless as to who she is – I walk. I don’t sweat. I don’t grind. I don’t do pain and discomfort voluntarily).

She and her other top influencers have a strong following on all the most popular social media sites:

– – 39.5 million Instagram followers

– – 2.6 million Twitter followers

– – 52 million Facebook likes

– – 5 million YouTube subscriptions

Beauty: If you like to dabble in contouring and eyebrow shaping, then you have probably enjoyed some video tutorials by Zoe Sugg. She gives cosmetic divas the dish on how to get the best deals on all things make-up. But she’s not just a pretty face. Her novels have broken sales records.

All the top 10 beauty influencers are working to make the world a much lovelier place:

– – 50 million Instagram followers

– – 11.6 million Twitter followers

– – 16.6 million Facebook likes

– – 46.5 million YouTube subscribers

Home: You might think that house flippers would take center stage. Actually, topping the list for home life influencers is DIY interior designer, Grace Bonney. And independent artisans owe her a world of thanks for making their crafts and trades in greater demand. With a million readers subscribing to her monthly design magazine, even folks who avoid social media like the plague can discover how to spiffy up their digs.

Interior designers that are in hot demand on social media have:

– – 3.2 million Instagram followers

– – 890 thousand Twitter followers

– – 1.4 million Facebook likes

– – 1 million YouTube subscribers

But what does this tell us about American society that is tuned in and logged on? Well, the American population numbers about 321.5 million as of 2015 US Census data. When we see the total reach of these top influencers as reported by Forbes, in puts things in greater perspective. Granted, many of these followers hail from other countries, but it is still easy to see what it means for America who comprises the largest portion of the numbers:

Entertainment Total Reach: 247 million are influenced by comedy, dance and theater in any format.

Travel Total Reach: 17.4 million are influenced by snagging every travel perk they are owed by their credit card company and then using them.

Gaming Total Reach: 228 million are engaged in blood and mayhem through cyber proxies.

Fitness Total Reach: 106 million are still searching for the Fountain of Youth by way of a fitness guru.

Beauty Total Reach: 135 million are searching for ways to look like a supermodel without breaking the bank.

Home Total Reach: 7.4 million still believe that a beautiful home is where the heart is.

By and large, Americans want to be entertained. Perhaps the jet-setting lifestyle of their favorite celebrities in turn drive them to the top influencers of travel, fitness and beauty. And the gringa supposes that for those who can’t afford to mimic the lifestyles of the rich and famous they worship, the next best thing is to escape into the high drama of a make-believe character of a video game. And then, finally, when reality sets in, they simply decide to make the best with what they’ve got. They settle down to a bit of nesting. And that’s the story of America through the effects of the top influencers of social media.

This little book by Judy Schachner is a quick 5 minute read in English and Spanish. The perfect length of time to engage toddlers with short attentions spans. So, grab the little ones for a few minutes and enjoy the story.